Football and injury risks – What is to be done to prevent accidents?

Maybe your passion for the game stopped you from weighing the risks of this sport, but now more than ever, they need to be emphasised for the actual and future players to stay safe while doing what they know best – get the ball rolling.

Football is without a doubt an enticing sport, just like racing or hiking, but it is also dangerous, and before embarking on the journey of becoming a football player, you need to be aware of what this activity involves. Whether we talk about professional or amateur football, injury risks are real, and some include traumatic brain injuries, concussions, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, ankle, knee, and wrist injuries, and even chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of dementia many players in the NHL and NFL have experienced throughout time.

Football players are prone to such conditions due to the impacts suffered, whether with the ball or other players on the field. Specialists are concerned about the concussions these athletes often experience, as they can result in depression, dizziness, memory loss, sleep deprivation, and CTE in the long term. In other words, the injury might seem minor at the moment of the impact, but it can transform into a problematic condition that is hard to deal with.

So, exactly how risky is football?

A disturbing mixture of uncertainty and hazard

You may have heard that football is dangerous, but exactly how dangerous? Researchers from Buffalo’s SUNY explain more. Specialists studied 21 men, professional football and hockey players alike, and examined numerous aspects of their health during the process. These individuals ranged in age from mid-thirties to the early seventies for the researchers to be able to compare their conditions with reference to their age.

Conclusions? It was discovered that football and hockey players suffered more from clinical anxiety than their fellows practising running, cycling, or swimming. They were more prone to a type of dementia called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), caused mainly by their repeated head injuries throughout their career. The results are sad, all the more so since injuries can have debilitating consequences. Some brain injuries could even leave a player in a coma, permanently impaired, or worse. For example, the famous athlete Mike Webster, an NFL Hall of Famer, was a victim of a heart attack, and it is believed that the lesions in his brain played a significant role in his death.

It is as clear as day that football is just as risky as motorsport. It is a high-impact sport that requires much reflection before taking this route and, if you are already in the game, ensure you take all the necessary steps to keep you safe from hazards. Some cannot be prevented, as it is not like you anticipate when someone hits you straight in the head with the ball, but others can be avoided or at least diminished.

Nevertheless, if you get injured due to intentional or negligent behaviour, you are within your rights to make a compensation claim. Unsafe pitch surfaces or improper equipment are some reasons you might be eligible for compensation, so ensure you hire a professional injury lawyer to help you with the legal procedures. Accident at Work Claim Care specialists, for example, can provide free legal advice and further protect your rights in court if it is proven that you got hurt because of someone else’s inattention.

Football and brain injuries

Some of the most frequent brain injuries football players are prone to are concussions. But these concussions can lead to severe complications if left untreated, like CTE. Let us learn about these two medical issues that can seriously threaten football athletes’ health.

What is a concussion?

Concussions are traumas to the head resulting from a great force or impact on the head. This makes the brain hit the inside of the skull, meaning that the person injured is likely to experience symptoms like loss of consciousness, memory loss, fogginess, headaches, and disorientation. Concussions often require medical intervention, but time and rest contribute to recovery in many cases. However, a second concussion (not excluded in football playing) can lead to severe medical conditions, including anxiety, depression, personality changes, Alzheimer’s, and CTE.

How to prevent a concussion?

Wearing adequately fitted protective equipment like mouth guards and helmets is the most obvious prevention method, but there are much more actions you can take to keep yourself safe from forceful impacts. You can hire an expert trainer to teach you the proper techniques to avoid blows to the head. Or, you can limit the amount of physical contact, as it is also one of the reasons these impacts occur. You may also want to keep a close eye on the other athletes to learn their movements and then take steps to protect yourself from impacts likely to be violent.

What is CTE?

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or shortly CTE is what concussions turn into if left untreated or if you continue to get exposed to such blows to the head. In football, it is pretty hard to avoid the impact since it is your duty to take the ball and reach the goal. Multiple and repeated brain injuries can result in CTE, which may have severe consequences like impaired judgement, depression, and even aggression. The worst thing it can ever happen is suicide, but unfortunately, this has affected athletes with CTE (see the case of Aaron Hernandez).

Injuries in football more common than CTE

CTE is one of the worst conditions a football player can experience, but let us not go that far. There are common injuries footballers often deal with, and we do not say that these are less serious and just that their treatment is less complicated.

Thus, some of the most frequent damages on the football field include:

• ACL injuries

• Knee injuries

• Ankle sprains

• Hamstrings

• Groin injuries

• Hip pointers

Takeaway. Football is a risky sport that requires much passion and courage. If you are already in the game or training to get there, you surely know what we are talking about.